Boy and woman in hat in wooden sail boat, Benin

BENIN · Tourism

Ganvie

Ouidah is the source of vodun and a departure point of the Atlantic slave trade, Abomey holds the earthen palaces of the kings of Dahomey, and Ganvie is a town of thirty thousand people on stilts in a lagoon.

West AfricaRegion

27Tourism experiences

Where vodun comes from, and the palaces of DahomeyKnown for

01

Featured destinations

Where the country actually takes you.

People at the river, Benin

Pendjari and the Atakora

The Atakora hills in the northwest, and the Pendjari river running along the park.

Photo Louisette BEHOU / Pexels

Group of people in traditional tribal clothing and sunglasses, Benin

The Atakora Range

Six hundred metres of quartzite ridge in the northwest, with the Somba country under it.

Photo Abdias GBETOKPANOU / Pexels

Waterfalls during daytime, Benin

Tanougou

Falls off the Atakora into a deep pool, swimmable and cold.

Photo Avonne Stalling / Pexels

A woman riding a boat, Benin

Lake Nokoue and the Oueme

The lagoon behind Cotonou, and the Oueme running down to it through the delta.

Photo Kenza Loussouarn / Pexels

Scenic coastal landscape with ocean view, Benin

A Hundred Kilometres of Atlantic

Grand-Popo and Ouidah, with heavy surf and coconut palms right down to the sand.

Photo Tuấn Vũ / Pexels

A person is riding a kite in the woods, Benin

The Sacred Forests

Kpasse at Ouidah and the groves around it, protected because they are vodun sites.

Photo Shovan Datta / Pexels

02

Wildlife & safari

What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.

Zebras on savannah, Benin

Wildlife

Pendjari

Lion, elephant, buffalo and cheetah in one of the last strongholds of the West African lion.

Photo Alex Levis / Pexels

Family of african elephants at waterhole, Benin

The W-Arly-Pendjari Complex

The largest intact ecosystem in West Africa, run across three countries.

Photo Derek Keats / Pexels

Deer in nature, Benin

Pendjari, Community-Run

Managed since 2017 by African Parks with the villages around it, and the lion count is up.

Photo Kenneth Mulindwa / Pexels

03

Culture & heritage

The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.

Traditional african drumming ceremony indoors, Benin

Culture

Where Vodun Comes From

Not a folk survival — a living religion with millions of followers, and a public holiday.

Photo Zeal Creative Studios / Pexels

Traditional thatched house, Benin

Fon, Yoruba, Bariba, Somba

The Fon of Dahomey in the south, the Somba in the Atakora with their fortified houses.

Photo David Kwewum / Pexels

Indonesian fusion cuisine plated elegantly, Benin

Amiwo and Grilled Fish

Amiwo — maize with tomato and chicken — and fish straight off the Grand-Popo beach.

Photo kevin yung / Pexels

Silhouette of a person standing barefoot on sand, Benin

The Vodun Festival

10 January at Ouidah, on the beach, and it is a religious event before it is a spectacle.

Photo Ankit Bhattacharjee / Pexels

Traditional craftsmanship in abomey benin

Applique and Bronze

The Abomey applique banners that recorded the kings' reigns, and Fon bronze casting.

Photo Atman Bouba / Pexels

Intricate architectural wall with carvings, Benin

The Royal Palaces of Abomey

Twelve palaces of the kings of Dahomey, in earth, with bas-reliefs telling the history.

Photo Tahir Xəlfəquliyev / Pexels

A sign sticking on glass, Benin

The Route of the Slaves

Four kilometres from Ouidah's auction square to the Door of No Return on the beach.

Photo Tim Mossholder / Pexels

04

Cities & everyday life

Where people actually live between the landmarks.

Cities

Cotonou, Porto-Novo, Abomey

A port that never stops, a colonial capital, and the seat of a kingdom.

Portrait of a merchant in jos nigeria, Benin

Earth and Afro-Brazilian

Somba tata towers in the north, and Afro-Brazilian merchant houses in Ouidah and Porto-Novo.

Photo Jagaba Denis / Pexels

Young man in yellow shirt against dark backdrop, Benin

Zemidjan

The motorcycle taxis are the transport system, and their yellow shirts are the uniform.

Photo Lam N / Pexels

Back view of fisherman on boat in village, Benin

Ganvie by Pirogue

A whole town on water, reached by boat, which no child has ever found boring.

Photo Safari Consoler / Pexels

05

Adventure & outdoors

For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.

Back view of people walking on trail, Benin

Adventure

Pirogue and Pendjari

Poling through Ganvie in the morning, and a game drive in the north two days later.

Photo Xuân Thống Trần / Pexels

Footpath among barren trees, Benin

Walking the Atakora

Somba villages, quartzite ridges and the Tanougou pool, on foot from Natitingou.

Photo Krishna Mondal / Pexels

Hiker at izta popo zoquiapan national park, Benin

A Few Good Ones

Lodges at Pendjari and on the coast at Grand-Popo, and good hotels in Cotonou.

Photo Omar Tapia / Pexels

06

Travel inspiration

The frames people come home with.

Wooden boat on the lake near wooden houses, Benin

Stilts and Reflection

Ganvie at first light, when the water is still and the houses double.

Photo Alberto Capparelli / Pexels

Rustic wooden bench by serene lake shore, Benin

Possotome and Lake Aheme

A quiet lake west of Ouidah with fishing villages and hot springs on its shore.

Photo Dongdilac / Pexels

Palm sunday, Benin

Why Visit This Country

Why Benin

Vodun at its source, the palaces of Dahomey, and West Africa's best-run national park.

Why Benin

Vodun at its source, the palaces of Dahomey, and West Africa's best-run national park.

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